I
remember seeing many movies at the drive-in theater when I
was a kid. But it was 'Star Wars' that made me think, "I
don't know how they made that, but that's what I want to do:
create a world that only exists on film." I was 11 years
old at the time.

In
1985 I began pursuing my dream by majoring in film at Los
Angeles Valley College. I quickly noticed that most of the
other students liked directing their own projects but didn't
care much about cutting them. To me, editing the film was
every bit as important as directing it, so I volunteered to
cut everyone else's projects.

I
got my first job in the industry in 1987 as a sales representative
at Christy's Editorial Film Supply in Burbank. I also continued
to work on student projects and very low-budget films to gain
experience as a film assistant. Then, my big break came when
I was hired as the film conforming assistant on 'Madonna:
Truth or Dare'.

Recognizing
that computer-based editing systems would be used in the cutting
rooms of the future, I made it a point to learn as much as
possible about the new nonlinear machines. In the early '90s
my research led me to recommend that Christy's introduce the
Lightworks as a feature-film cutting tool. I educated myself
on the Lightworks and became proficient enough to train both
assistants and editors on the system. I have since also learned
the Avid Film Composer. Even though I am most often hired
as a computer assistant, I like to keep a film bench in my
room as well so that I can help the other assistants when
needed. I also continue to keep abreast of new technologies
that will assist us in the cutting room.

I
feel fortunate to have made enough contacts to work with some
great editors -including Paul Hirsch, Peter Honess, Larry
Bock, Bob Brown and John Wright - as an assistant on union
films, including 'Mighty Joe Young', 'Mercury Rising', 'Speed
2', 'The Ghost and the Darkness', 'Broken Arrow', 'Desperado'
and 'Four Rooms'. Whether it's helping director Larry Clark
add some missing scenes for the director's cut of 'Another
Day in Paradise', or cutting temp sound effects for Jan De
Bont on 'Speed 2', what I like most about my job is working
with unique and creative directors to help them achieve their
vision.

When
I was in school, I had a film- history professor named Joe
Daccurso. I'll never forget what he would always tell his
students: "If you can't make it through one of my classes,
then you will never make it in the film industry." I
took what he said to heart, and continue to work as hard at
my job as I did in his classes. I think it's paid off, so
far.